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Adventure Comics Vol 1 39
Joe was a reporter for the local paper who had just received a visit from Tex, an investigator for the F.B.I., stating that he had a story Joe might be interested in hearing. Joe got excited, any story from a federal agent was usually front page worthy, but Tex warned him that after he hears this story, he probably wouldn't be able to print it... Tex got a call from the chief one afternoon after finishing up a case in Baltimore. Counterfeiters were operating a little too close to home in Washington, and the chief wanted Tex to find out what would make them so bold to conduct their illegal printing in the F.B.I.'s backyard. However, Tex found that investigating them wouldn't be easy, as every bartender, restaurant owner, and hotel manager he spoke to have neither seen nor heard from anyone suspicious. Even the Bureau of Printing and Engaving hadn't heard anything, and their printing presses were all running smoothly. Suddenly he got a call from the chief, saying that the Secretary of the Treasury just phoned him with a frantic tone in his voice. He had just found out that the counterfeit money was being printed by the government itself! Someone had stolen the original printing plates and replaced them with counterfeits, meaning the phony money had been unknowingly spread about the public by the thousands, and somewhere there were counterfeiters who could make real, cashable bills. And ever since the switch, two press room employees have handed in their resignations and haven't been heard from since, making it seem like an inside job. The chief then received a coded telegram from an agent in New York, who was reporting that he had received information that led him to deduce the counterfeiters were either operating in Brooklyn or Manhattan. Now all that was left was for Tex to decide which location he would visit first... Concludes next issue. | Synopsis7 = One late evening in a small town in India, Gabby McGuire strolls through the dimly lit streets on his way to meet Captain Desmo. His movements were being watched by four unsavory figures hiding in the shadows. They whisper amongst themselves, calling Gabby a "decent specimen", and prepare to capture him. A feeling of unease comes over Gabby, he wheels around in time to see the rowdy natives rush him from an alley. Though outnumbered three-to-one, Gabby is able to give a good account of himself through fisticuffs, and manages to quell the ruffians, and pauses to catch his breath, leaving him off his guard for the fourth member of the group to sneak up behind and bump Gabby on the back of the head with the butt of his revolver. The men recompose themselves and tie Gabby up on the back of a donkey as they set out for the hills... Captain Desmo waited impatiently for his friend, and asks a nearby old beggar if he had seen a "loud suit wearing a derby." The beggar points off behind the captain at a local native strutting across the street with a new derby hat that looked exactly like the one Gabby wore. Desmo grabs the man by the shoulders and begins shaking him, demanding to know where he got the hat. It fell off the head of an American tourist that got into a fight with some slavers and was dragged off, the scared man replied. Meanwhile, Gabby is brought to the stronghold of Colonel Benback, who was on a merciless quest for gold, and is told that he is to help them dig for gold in the mine, which will then be flown by plane out of the country, thus avoiding any customs, and wages. A beefy looking tough, appropriately nicknamed Crusher, leads Gabby down into the canyon where cruel guards were forcing men to operate a nearby mine, pushing them beyond their endurance, and whipping those that fall to the ground in exhaustion until they continue their work. Inside the mine the conditions were no better, the air was stale and hot with the permeating odor of human bodies sweating. It is here that Gabby is given a pickaxe and told to begin with a reminder that refusal meant death, there were always more slaves where he came from, after all. It would have been a small comfort if only Gabby knew that Captain Desmo had taken to the air in order to search for his missing comrade... | Synopsis8 = Far up on the Sang Po river, Tom Brent guides a small boat laden with supplies from the accompanying treasure hunting party. Smoke is often seen billowing from the treetops that would suggest a tribe of natives, but strangely none have been sighted. But little did Tom and the others realize that even now they were being watched. The head of the group notifies Tom that their stop is up ahead by the beach where they will begin unloading the supplies. Once the boat is dragged up onto the sandy bank, however, Tom and the treasure hunting party are confronted by a band of ragged chinese soldiers. Their leader speaks to the crew, saying that the supplies now belong to Hong, who rules over all the land, as evidenced by the smoke from burning villages. He orders Tom and the others to carry the supplies as they follow him to the fortified temple of Hong. Once inside the temple, the supplies are taken and the guards separate Tom from the rest of his party, throwing him in the dungeon. Tom finds that he has a cellmate, a Colonel Cross, who was captured while doing research not too far from the temple. That night Tom is awakened by a noise like distant thunder. Outside, the guards were thrown into a state of confusion. On a hill opposite the temple was a troop of government soldiers loading another round into their cannon. Hong watches from the window of his room with amusement. Rather than flee, he decides to stay and watch the proceedings, a decision he'll pay for with his life, for the next mortar shell destroys the window and everything beyond. Hong was dead, and his men suddenly lost their will to fight. The prisoners are all set free, and Tom is sent back home with Colonel Cross vouching for him to the government officials... | Synopsis9 = Skip Schuyler had been temporarily stationed at Fort Jay in the shadow of Manhattan's skyscrapers. He was sitting in his quarters polishing his boots when his old friend, Rusty Bellows, came rushing in. He told Skip about an upcoming benefit game to be played by Fort Jay, that will be sending all it's proceeds to the War Veterans Hospital. And what's more, the New York Yankees themselves volunteered their services for the cause, and Rusty wanted Skip to pitch against them. After all, everyone had heard the stories about his excellent throwing arm back when he was playing at West Point Military Academy. But Skip declined his friend's offer, saying that it's been far too long and he has since lost the skill. He leaves a disappointed Rusty behind and walks outside to be by himself. The honest truth was that he would've loved to throw a pitch against the Yankees, but a shoulder injury he had sustained a few years back. The Army and Navy were holding a football game against each other, and old Chuck Dean broke loose on a 65-yard touchdown, winning the game for the Army! Of course, the score wouldn't have been possible if it hadn't been for number 29, Skip Schuyler, who threw a crucial block on the Navy's safety man, who would have tackled Dean in seconds. The block had taken it's toll, tearing a muscle in Skip's shoulder, sending him off the field with his arm dangling at his side. It was the injury that ended his pitching career before it ever really started, but Skip was too embarrassed to tell Rusty that. The next day, Skip was leaning against an artillery piece while reading his mail, when two men on the other side started talking. They had seen Rusty acting down in the dumps since yesterday, talking about how he had made a bet with his next months salary that Fort Jay would be able to hold it's own against the Yankees for three runs. Said he had a crack pitcher he was going to use, but apparently was turned down by whoever it was, leaving Rusty out of luck. Skip overheard everything and immediately felt bad that he let his friend down. If Rusty really had that much faith in him, though, then the least he could do was try. That afternoon, he strolled down to the stables to practice his throwing. At first, his shoulder tightened and strained against his efforts, but Skip found that as he pressed on it began to loosen a bit. Soon, he began throwing pitches like back in the day, and after a few more he ran off to find Rusty and tell him he had reconsidered the offer. The day of the benefit, out on the Fort Jay baseball field the Yankees were warming up with batting practice, while Skip and Rusty were practicing their throws by the first base. At the start of the game, Skip found that winning Rusty his bet would be much harder than they both thought. Two runs in and Fort Jay was barely hanging on. When he pitched to Lou Gehrig, the ball was sent back on a collision course with Skip's head, with only his hand to stop it. The force made his hand ache like never before, causing him a serious handicap in his next couple pitches. But finally, the fort got it's first two runs in, even-ing the score; 2-2. Rusty cheered his friend on, forgetting all about the bet in awe of Skip's talent. It was the last inning and Joe DiMaggio was last on bat. Skip had him with two strikes, and was preparing to pitch him out. And then, he threw a good fastball right to the plate. DiMaggio swung with all his might, and the ball was sent flying. As the Yankee rounded the bases, the tie was finally broken. The Yankees had won. However, Rusty seemed happy, for he was grinning to himself. The bet may be lost but seeing Skip pitch again was compensation enough... | Synopsis10 = Long Sin and his evil crew have joined forces with Ebenezer Slade, together capturing Steve with the boys, Rusty, Specs and Tubby. The Duchess, disliking her employer's recent attempts to murder his enemies, double-crosses Slade and is about to help free Steve when a pair of hands grab her from behind. It is Omar, Slade's giant servant. He sends the Duchess flying across the room with a powerful back-hand slap while Steve struggles against the rest of the bindings. He frees himself in the nick of time as Omar drew his saber and whirled on the young man. Omar slashes at Steve's head, literally missing it by a hair. Steve counters by charging into Omar, putting all his practice as the college End Tackle champion into play until the giant was forced to tumble backward, cracking his head against the cement wall. The Duchess is helped to her feet and given a drink of water to help clear her head, then she and Steve untie the three boys and Alfred Forrest, their new acquaintance. Now that everybody was free, they made a run for the back-door, where Steve found a spare machine gun on the way, and run for the hills just as Slade notices their fleeing forms. Steve Carter makes his stand at a rocky area near the top of a steep hill and sends Alfred and the Duchess onward with the boys while he holds off their pursuers. Rusty stays behind to help Steve with the ammunition, and the two of them watch the men come to a halt at the foot of the hill. Down below, Sin Fu discusses an idea he has with Slade. Sin Fu will send his own men up to make the escapees waste their ammo, and then strike once the gun is empty! It would appear, however, that Steve had far more ammo than Long Sin had men, by the time the last bandit was downed, he was still able to fire a few warning shots. A new strategy was in order, so Long Sin ordered Slade and his cronies to sneak around to the other side of the hill. Another of Long Sin's men shoots Steve in the hand, disabling him. Rusty took over manning the machine gun to let Steve bandage himself, neither of them realizing the danger that was behind them, as Slade and Long Sin's captain aimed a pistol at their backs... | Synopsis11 = Lieutenant Commander Don Kerry and "Red" Murphy, being temporarily stationed at the Panama Canal, decide to take a day off their naval duties and practice rifle marksmanship by hunting the alligators that infest the nearby swamplands. With a rented rowboat, the boys move up the muddy river searching for the scaly reptiles. Don sights one sleeping on the mud bank and takes a shot, hitting the creature right between the eyes. Excited, they bring the boat up next to the bank and get out to look at the fine catch. Unknown to Don and Red, a weird, disheveled figure watches them from the jungle. Getting a feeling of being watched, Don turns towards the brush and spots the bespectacled man just as he darts away. The boys dash in pursuit, hearing the madman crashing through the foliage ahead of them, until they reach a fork in the trail. Don takes one path, while Red tries the other, hoping to find the stranger before it was time to head back to base. After a couple minutes of following the trail, Don's foot hits a trip-wire and falls flat on his face. The weird old man appeared behind him with a gun and forced him to hike onward. Eventually, they came to a well built, one-storied shack, where Don is brought into and tied up. Then, the madman finally begins to explain why he was there. Once a famous engineer, the man started receiving payments from foreign governments to build them bombs and set up explosives. Don listened in horror as the man went on to say that he had set up loads of dynamite to blow up the canal, and the wire he had tripped over connected to the plunger that would now be used to set off the explosives. He grabbed the device and, before Don could shout out, pushed down on the plunger! Don steeled himself for the expected ear-shattering explosion... In the time this was all taking place, Red had returned to the meeting place and grew concerned when Don didn't return. He rushed down the same path Don had taken earlier and trips over the same wire, losing his temper afterwards and cutting the wire in two with his knife. Thus, when the plunger was pressed by the crazy engineer in the shack, all that was heard was a dull "click". Filled with rage at his plan's failure the man picks up a machete and advances on the helpless Don Kerry, who is saved in the nick of time by Red bursting through the door and tackling the assailant to the ground. The man escapes in the scuffle and runs outside into the marshes. Red and Don hurry after him, not letting him out of their sight as he crosses over the river on a narrow log. Suddenly, karma catches up to the old fool, causing him to lose his footing and fall into the murky water below where a hungry gator is waiting. It's jaws close around him and brings the madman's body down into the depths with it. And so, with Don and Red's report, the navy uncovered the dynamite and safely removed it. The body of the explosives engineer was never recovered, because of the mighty appetite of the Panama Canal's great scaled beasts. | Editor1_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor2_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor3_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor4_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor5_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor6_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor7_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor8_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor9_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor10_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Editor11_1 = Vincent Sullivan | Writer1_1 = Ed Winiarski | Writer2_1 = Gardner Fox | Writer3_1 = Jerry Siegel | Writer4_1 = Jim Chambers | Writer5_1 = Gardner Fox | Writer6_1 = Frank Thomas | Writer7_1 = Ed Winiarski | Writer8_1 = Jim Chambers | Writer9_1 = Tom Hickey | Writer10_1 = Bob Kane | Writer11_1 = Fred Guardineer | Penciler1_1 = Ed Winiarski | Penciler2_1 = George Newman | Penciler3_1 = Joe Shuster | Penciler4_1 = Jim Chambers | Penciler5_1 = Don Lynch | Penciler6_1 = | Penciler7_1 = Ed Winiarski | Penciler8_1 = Jim Chambers | Penciler9_1 = Tom Hickey | Penciler10_1 = Bob Kane | Penciler11_1 = Fred Guardineer | Inker1_1 = Ed Winiarski | Inker2_1 = George Newman | Inker3_1 = Joe Shuster | Inker4_1 = Jim Chambers | Inker5_1 = Don Lynch | Inker6_1 = | Inker7_1 = Ed Winiarski | Inker8_1 = Jim Chambers | Inker9_1 = Tom Hickey | Inker10_1 = Bob Kane | Inker11_1 = Fred Guardineer | Colourist1_1 = | Letterer1_1 = | Appearing1 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Inspector LeGrand Adversaries: * Count Guniff * Guniff's band Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * Supporting Characters: * Volor * Queen Kothe Adversaries: * Golden statue of Dagan Other Characters: * The Watcher * Voggoth Locations: * Mayala Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing3 = Featured Characters: * Steve Carson Supporting Characters: * Adversaries: * Custodian Other Characters: * School Principal Locations: * Items: * Marijuana Vehicles: * | Appearing4 = Featured Characters: * Jack Woods Supporting Characters: * Adversaries: * Wolf Rucker * Marty Snell Other Characters: * Old Man Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing5 = Featured Characters: * Steve Malone Supporting Characters: * Officer Cassidy Adversaries: * Pierre Le France * Abe Otzman * Rhoda Daws Other Characters: * Goop Okell Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing6 = Featured Characters: * Tex Supporting Characters: * Joe Adversaries: * Counterfeiters Other Characters: * Browne Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing7 = Featured Characters: * Captain Desmo Supporting Characters: * Gabby McGuire Adversaries: * Colonel Benback * Butts * Crusher Other Characters: * Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing8 = Featured Characters: * Tom Brent Supporting Characters: * Adversaries: * Hong * Ming * Soo Other Characters: * Colonel Cross * Hong's daugther Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing9 = Featured Characters: * Skip Schuyler Supporting Characters: * Rusty Bellows Adversaries: * Other Characters: * Ebb White * ** Spud Chandler ** Tommy Henrich ** Joe DiMaggio ** Lou Gehrig ** Frankie Crosetti ** Red Rolfe ** Charlie Keller ** Joe "Flash" Gordon * Chuck Dean Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing10 = Featured Characters: * Rusty * Steve Carter Supporting Characters: * The Duchess * Specs * Tubby Adversaries: * Ebenezer Slade * Omar * Long Sin * The Captain * Hunch * Dr. Kurtz Other Characters: * Alfred P. Forrest Locations: * Items: * Vehicles: * | Appearing11 = Featured Characters: * Don Kerry Supporting Characters: * Red Murphy Adversaries: * Unnamed Madman Other Characters: * Locations: * :* Items: * Vehicles: * | Notes = * This issue contains the final appearance of Tom Brent. * Jack Woods, a regular in More Fun Comics since its debut as "New Fun", will spend 3 more months in the pages of Adventure Comics before his story is cancelled in issue #42. | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = * Adventure Comics #39 index entry * Adventure Comics #39 spoilers 1 * Adventure Comics #39 spoilers 2 }}